Coffee at Christmas
by Iridesque
Summary: Two strangers. An old coffee shop. Maybe Christmas wasn't so cold after all.


Christmas Eve.

It was a night of magic, the night of feasts and presents, gift wrappers and shrieks of laughter. The small town was covered with lights and decorations, of Christmas trees and brightly colored banners. The snow gently covered the ground, sparkling in the light of the street lamps.

But to the lonely, this night was a night of cold; it seemed as if the frost was unavoidable. It could even crawl into his heart, he thought.

The young man, bundled in scarves and jumpers, walked briskly, almost as if he was in a hurry. His eyes scanned the surroundings, almost as if he was looking for something out of place.

It was getting late, the shops and restaurants closing. There were workers heading home to their families. The snow was getting heavier and walking around seemed almost like a chore. It was no use waiting around this area, he thought. There was nothing eventful; everyone was gone and the train only passed every two hours.

He looked up at the flickering neon sign ahead, before heading into the familiar setting of the small restaurant. The bell tinkled as he entered, brushing the snow off of his hair. He hung his coat at the door.

"John Watson!" the barista greeted heartily. "Would you like the usual? A coffee, no sugars I assume?"

"That would be great, thank you," the man replied politely, sitting down at the chair by the window. He watched the snowflakes fall, listening to the radio behind him as the shop-owner whistled to the tune.

It was church music. 'Sherlock could play it on the violin,' John thought, sighing to himself. He continued to stare blankly at the window, lost in his own thoughts.

'Wait, what was that?' There was a child- no, more like a young lady standing at the train station's gates. His eyebrows were furrowed; she was definitely not from this area. She wouldn't be standing at the station an hour early for the old engine to pass. He could tell by her clothes that she was from London. Still, she seemed familiar with this area, almost as if she had lived here for too long.

Why was she here, did she know that the next train was only a cargo engine? He stood up and grabbed his coat, heading for the door. He placed his scarf on his seat and waved to the barista before stepping outside into the cold.

It was much colder than before. He headed towards the fountain before crossing the pavement, and entering the shaded area of the station. He stepped forward tentatively- curiously, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do.

"Excuse me miss? Are you lost?" he asked in a deep voice.

The girl turned around with a surprised look, her blond hair swishing past her shoulders. She relaxed, realizing it was just a friendly stranger.

"No sir, I'm just… reminiscing," she murmured, looking up into the sky once more. Curiosity bubbled in the man's mind.

"Perhaps you would like to do so in a warmer environment; standing out in the snow isn't going to do you much good," he offered his hand. "There's a coffee shop over there, maybe you can wait in the warmth,"

She smiled, her brown eyes softened in appreciation. "Thank you, sir," she replied, taking his hand and following him towards the shop.

The man looked at her, almost calculatingly. She was shivering. "Aren't you cold? You don't seem to be dressed for this weather,"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," she gave him a smile. He hesitated, before taking his coat off and draping it over her shoulders.

"I don't think it would be good on my part if you ended up with a cold," he grumbled, starting up again with a faster pace. "Let's get you inside,"

The girl's cheeks turned red, whether from the cold or from embarrassment, he wasn't sure. She murmured her thanks and followed him into the shop.

He took his coat back, brushing it off and hanging it on the rack again. Taking his drink from the counter, he headed back to his seat; the young blonde followed.

"Would you like anything, miss?" the friendly old man asked cheerfully, "something to chase away the winter blues perhaps?"

"A latte would be nice," she smiled, as the barista headed back to the counter and getting her the drink. She turned back to the window, looking upwards to the sky.

"So," John broke the awkward silence. "What were you waiting for? It can't be the train, can it?"

"No, it wasn't the train," she sighed, "It was… old memories, of someone I used to know. I was just remembering,"

He hummed for a second; the old man came over with her drink. "What was this… memory about?"

"Nothing really, just travelling," she gave him a small smile, her hands wrapping around the mug. "I used to travel with this friend of mine,"

He raised his eyebrows; she didn't seem like a backpacker at all. "Travel? Where did you go?" he was curious; what happened to her partner? No, patience was the key.

"A lot of places," she almost blushed. "We travelled to New York once, then there was Scotland and Cardiff…" she trailed off.

"That doesn't seem like a lot of places to me," he commented with a smile.

"Well, a lot of places are- you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she laughed softly.

"Try me," was his reply.

"Let's just say there's a lot of timey-wimey things involved," she replies with a smirk.

He left it alone. "So what happened to him?" he questioned casually.

Her face fell and her body leaned forward. "He's… not here anymore. We kind of got separated," she mumbled, clutching her drink tightly.

He peered at her face curiously. This wasn't usual. She didn't break up with him, that's for sure, but if he broke up with her, she would've said so; everything just seemed confusing.

She looked up at him with a sad smile. "Do you remember how- about a year ago, there was this big operation with the Torchwood building in London?

He nodded, taking another sip from his drink.

"Well, there's a man called the Doctor, and we had travelled through time and space in a parallel universe. After a while, he heard there was trouble back on Earth. There was an army and they threatened to destroy the other Earth. In order to save both universes, we had to trap them in the void, which is this space between the two parallel universes,"

He nodded thoughtfully, processing her words. Sherlock had always been confident that there was alien life out there.

"So in order to do so, we had to send everyone back to this side. The Doctor and I activated the switch to suck in the rest of the creatures into the void, but the lever was jammed,"

He nodded once more; he had always known there was something out there as well- out in the universe, there had to be something more than this little planet. It didn't surprise him that there were hostile creatures out there as well.

"So I moved to the lever to fix it, but I couldn't hang on tightly enough," she sighed, "I accidentally let go and I would've been sucked into the void, but my father caught me and teleported me back here, right before the portal closed,"

He paused, about to lift his cup towards his mouth. He slowly lowered the cup back onto the table, trying to understand the full story.

"So when you mean you got separated, it means you're in a different universe than he is," he concluded.

She nodded slowly, biting her lip.

"Then why can't he come over this side to pick you up? I mean, he seems quite powerful, so why couldn't he get over to this side to find you? He can travel through time and space, for goodness sake," he grumbled, slightly confused. Her companion seemed quite interesting; he couldn't imagine any normal person standing up to an alien, much less fighting an army of them.

She sighed again, sinking into her seat. "It's impossible; the cracks between the universes have closed, and- it would take more than a dying sun to send me back to the other side," she murmured.

"I'm sorry about that," he replied. His hand twitched; he wanted to place his hand on hers. He wanted to tell her everything would be all right, but a lie wouldn't help this situation.

"I lost someone too," the words slipped out of his mouth. She looked up in surprise.

"This was the first place we met actually; we were solving a case involving a woman with a pink briefcase," he continued.

"You're John Watson, right? Sherlock Holmes' friend?" realization dawned in her gaze. "I've heard a lot about your work," she replied politely.

"He was my best friend," he confirmed. "It's been a year since I last saw him though,"

"I'm sorry about what happened,"

"Me too," he sighed. "I'm more sorry about my last words. Before he-" he paused. "I told him he was a monster, and that friends would protect him, and that he had none. I wish I could go back and tell him that he was worth it; he was worth all of it."

The girl leaned forward, handing him a tissue. He smiled and took it, dabbing at his eyes.

"I guess we're both a little lost this Christmas, aren't we?" he chuckled humorlessly.

"I guess we are," she smirked. "Two people with strange friends and even stranger stories,"

He paused. "If you don't have anyone or anything to do this Christmas, you could spend it with me," his face turned red, realizing the implications of his phrase. "I mean- not to sound awkward, I guess if your companion isn't coming back-" he stuttered.

She grinned, obviously amused by his embarrassment. "I'd love to. No one should spend Christmas alone," she smiled.

"That's great. I'll ask Mrs. Hudson if she can prepare us something," he replied shyly. "Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name? I don't believe I've asked you yet,"

A snort of amusement. "It's Rose,"

"It's nice to meet you, Rose," he nodded politely.

"Nice to meet you too, John." a smile lit up her face.

In the whirling snow and frosted winds that swept across the town, two strangers subconsciously realized that perhaps, the winter wasn't so cold after all.

_Hi guys. I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I know I haven't written in some time, so here you go. I hope you enjoy this story. Reviews much appreciated!_


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